Cold, Hard, Honest Advice from a Tattoo Artist

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Have you ever wondered, “what is going on inside a tattoo artist’s head?” Many things, ranging from: crazy wild conspiracy theories, to cute animals dancing on the internet, to the latest music trends, I’m sure. Usually, these are all of the “fun” topics that clients and I get to share while in the tattoo chair. This thread is not that. I’m going to talk about the “not so fun” parts of being a tattoo artist, and what really grinds my (our) gears, from the consultation process to the tattoo appointment, and everything after that.

​A lot of our stresses come down to prospects not using basic, common sense. So, I’ve compiled a list of information that can help just about anyone learn how to be a “super cool client” and how to avoid being someone who gets “blacklisted.” Follow this simple advice, and you too could get tattooed by me (or anyone else equally as awesome). Don’t follow this advice, and you may potentially miss opportunities of working with some really cool people. The choice is yours.

During Your Tattoo Discovery/Consultation Stage
Only contact one artist at a time. — ​Tattoo artists will know if you contacted three people, who all work at the same studio, for the same piece, on the same day. Unsurprisingly, like all office politics, we talk to one another! When we catch wind that you are price shopping for the cheapest tattoo you can find, we likely don’t want to take on the project. Additionally, if you are spam messaging consultation forms to everyone you can find, you are still only going to be able to pick one artist to work with. People who send consultation forms and then never respond again put a bad taste in our mouths. It’s especially bad if you do it for multiple tattoo requests. If we know you by name (from how many times you’ve sent everyone here requests), but you’ve never been tattooed by anyone at our shop/studio, it’s a not a good look.

• Alternatively, do this: Rather than sending 10 consultation forms to multiple artists, pick one artist to start with. If you do not hear back from them within a week’s time frame, it’s a safe bet they are not going to get back to you soon (or at all). They probably are not the right artist for you. Instead, choose another artist to send a consult form to. If you truly wanted the tattoo, the best fit artist is worth seeking out.

Be very, very specific when you fill out a consult form. — Tattoo artists are not mind readers. Give us concrete direction of what you want out of your next tattoo. What style of tattoo do you want (watercolor, neo traditional, color realism, black and grey, color infusion, traditional, new school, Japanese, etc.)? Provide as many reference photos as you can possibly provide in the consultation form. (You may need to send the artist a follow up email with more references once they respond to your initial request.) Explain to us what you like and dislike about each reference, so we have a better understanding of the direction you want to take your piece. Mention any colors that you want to include in the piece and ones to avoid (if any). Include a photo of the space you have available to get tattooed (and include a ruler if you can) showing how large it is. Don’t get your photos too close to the area and be sure to mention/show any existing tattoos that need to be worked around. Tell us what side of the body you want to get tattooed (left or right, so we know which way to face your tattoo design). Include any specific requests that you want done with the piece. If you have a visual idea in your head of what you want where, the more details you can provide us, the easier it is for us to understand you. For example, if you have a very set layout in mind, such as wanting pink fluffy clouds on top, then a yellow/orange sunset, then a mountain scene flowing into a river, ending with a deer eating grass below... Say that. You can even provide us a rough idea of what you want where on paper using labeled circles or rectangles and a short text explanation. Mention any background details you want (smoke, space, sparkles, watercolor, no background, etc.).

• Avoid saying things like: awesome, dope, cool, sick, and generally basic descriptive words. All art is subjective. What we think is amazing might look ugly and bent out of shape to you.

Help us book you. — Tell us what day(s) works best for you to get tattooed. We all know 99% of you want a Saturday time slot. Unfortunately, that’s not always available. Request off work, use PTO, take a sick day, or burn a personal day. Most studios these days have Wi-Fi, so you could probably bring your work to us and work remote as well (depending on the tattoo location).

• Be flexible: Plan your tattoos on dates where your job has “bank” holidays or mandatory shutdowns for maintenance. If you do decide to work remote while getting tattooed, make sure it’s on a lighter workload day where you won’t be needing to attend any meetings or take phone calls. Also, know that at some point your work may not be a helpful distraction, and that the tattoo might hurt too much to concentrate on anything else.

If we say we are unavailable, we are unavailable. — No, we cannot “squeeze you in” that day. We won’t be bumping our existing client, who paid a deposit, that is getting a half sleeve, just because you want to come in and get a script-font tattoo of your baby mama’s name on your neck. Not all artists are going to be available at your demand, on your terms and schedule. Many tattoo artists book out months to years in advance. Expect that the artist you want to work with is not going to be available on the exact date and time you want to get tattooed. If you want to walk in and get a tattoo on a whim from any artist who is available that day, then I suggest physically going to a walk-in tattoo studio, for a walk-in-sized, basic tattoo. Grunting and groaning that we aren’t available or asking/begging/demanding us to move someone else so that you can have their time slot, is absolutely ridiculous.

• Perhaps, you could say: Totally understandable! When is your soonest availability to take on this project? I would love to get your work.

Watch your tone. — Being rude is not going to get you in the tattoo chair any faster. Your tone of voice and how you respond, whether in person or via email/messages matters. We definitely don’t want to work with people who respond negatively, forcefully, or rudely. In kindergarten we learned how to say “please” and “thank you.” We learned to wait our turn and to not interrupt others when speaking. We said “goodbye” before we hung up the telephone. These are all basic people skills that (unfortunately many) people lack.

• Have you considered being polite? Common courtesy, and basic human decency, goes a long way. We want to work with people who are respectful, patient, and kind.

Expect tattoos to cost real money. — Audibly scoffing at the quoted tattoo price is an absolute no-no. “It’s going to cost that?!” It’s actually double now… Special pricing, just for you! Tattoos cost money. They are permanent artwork on your body. You get to keep it forever. Some of you pay $1,000+ for a new phone upgrade every year; is it really that expensive to get a $1,000 tattoo that you (essentially) never have to pay for again? Think about it… Brace yourself for sticker shock and be pleasantly surprised if your quote is lower than expected.

• Perhaps, you could try: I may need to save up some more money first. Are you able to do my tattoo across multiple sessions in smaller amounts? Or, do you have any availability further out that would allow me some time to get my funds together?
• Or: Let the artist know you want the piece, but it may take a little bit to save up some spare change. Ask if they have any dates further out. Pay a deposit, if applicable. Create a savings account specifically for your tattoo fund. Save, save, save. Then, get the piece!

You will not get $900 worth of quality tattoo work for $100. — Haggling with your tattoo artist for a better deal is not a welcome practice. "Come on man, I got $100 cash money," is not an attractive phrase in tattoo land. We all get paid in cash. You will not get $900 worth of quality tattoo work for $100. Anywhere. Period.

• Instead try: Oh! I wasn’t sure of how much this tattoo was going to cost… Are you able to work with my budget to make something smaller and less detailed?
• Or: Look out for deals that the artist of your choice is posting about and contact them during one of their sales/specials.

You get what you pay for. — Generally speaking, tattoo apprentices do tattoos for tip money or “apprentice pay” (half of the shop minimum) because they are still learning how to tattoo and will likely make mistakes. First and second year artists typically charge “shop minimum pricing,” which typically ranges from $100 to $150 per hour, again because they are still getting their bearings. Third to fifth year artists usually charge around/between $150 and $200 per hour. As artists continue learning more about tattooing, they become faster, more efficient, better at lining, better at shading, and better at coloring and gradients. The more time and dedication that an artist puts into refining their craft/style, the better their work looks, heals, and lasts. Hourly pricing continues to raise based on location, time in the industry, skillset, specialty, and demand. If you want exceptional tattoos, expect to pay higher prices.

• Note: Not all artists charge hourly rates. When artists tend to do a lot of same-sized tattoos, they know roughly how long a tattoo will take, and how much it will cost. The artist can then flat-rate their work or charge by the piece. If an artist quotes you $600 for a half day, and another artist tells you it’s $150 an hour, make sure you know how exactly how many hours you will be getting out of either side. Your pricing and quality could be drastically different.

Be committed to getting tattooed. — If you’re a flake, please don’t even fill out a consult form. It’s disrespectful and you’re wasting both your time and ours. If you decide last minute that you jumped the gun on getting tattooed, you will likely burn the bridge with the artist, and they will no longer want to work with you on any future project. It’s extremely rude to set up an appointment that you have no intentions on following through with.

• Otherwise: Wait to send a consult form until all your ducks are in a row. You’ve done your research. You know exactly which artist to work with. You know what you want your tattoo to be of. You have set aside funds and are willing and are able to wait until that artist’s books are open so you can send them a consult form. You are thoroughly committed to setting up an appointment, paying your deposit, and getting your tattoo. Then, follow through.
• Be mindful of price shopping: If you solely want to get a quote with no intentions of booking an appointment that day, mention that directly in the phone call, social media inquiry, email message, in-person consultation, or consult form. Let the artist know from the jump that you are only looking for a quote and that you are not at the point where you are not looking to book an appointment right away. (Yes, I stated that twice, worded two different ways, to make a point.) There will be artists that will weed themselves out. Others may try to get you in their chair with a good deal. Most will simply give you a quote and lessen their expectations of you following through with booking an appointment.

During the Back-and-Forth/Communication Stage
Please don’t take it personally if we do not want to take on your custom project. — Most tattoo artists have a specialty, likes/dislikes, and general tattoo subjects of interest. If we respectfully pass on a project and say we won’t be the right fit for your tattoo, we are saving you in the long run. Would you really want to get tattooed by someone who thinks your idea is stupid and only wants to take your money, doesn’t put their heart and soul into the piece, cranks it out as fast as they can and doesn’t care of the outcome? Me thinks not.

• If you really truly want to get tattooed by a specific person: Ask your artist if they have any available premade or flash designs that they really want to do. Let the tattoo artist lead the conversation. You may even get a really good deal or discount if it’s a piece they want to add to their portfolio! Just know, what they want to do, might not be exactly what you originally wanted or anticipated. You may want to ask for a few different options to pick from and then choose a piece that you would be happy rocking on your body, that they would also love to do.
• If you want your tattoo done in a specific style, a specific way: Do your research! Find someone who fits your project to a T. Read the artist’s FAQs, biography, likes/dislikes, “no” list, etc. Look at their portfolio. See if their work aligns with what you want. Then, contact the artists who are a best fit (one at a time). The likelihood of rejection is much lower than sending a consult form to someone who doesn’t have anything in their portfolio of what you are looking to get.

We do not work for free. — If an artist requires a deposit to get tattooed, you are expected to pay a deposit before you get artwork. Most artists have a whole line of people who get tattooed before your appointment, who need their artwork done before you. Pay your deposit, wait your turn, or don’t get tattooed by the people who take deposits.

• Things to mention: If you have a bit of anxiety around getting tattooed and need to see what your art will look like before you put a deposit down, we get it. Sending money to a complete stranger can be a bit nerve-wracking, especially if it’s $100+. No one wants you to get scammed. We also don’t want to put you down for a date and time, expecting you to pay us $900, and then have you not show up. That’s $900 of income we no longer have to pay our rent and feed our families.
• Still not satisfied? Consider sending your artist one of these responses: Do you have any additional examples of similar tattoos to my request that you’ve done (that aren’t on your website/social media) that I could see? Or, do you have any premade or pre-drawn tattoos close to my request that I could look at so that I could pick from those and make a few tweaks/revisions instead? While either of these questions may still be returned with a “no,” it is possible that you could get some more samples and examples to help ease your mind. Then, pay the deposit.

It’s okay to check-in and confirm an appointment; it is not okay to pester us for artwork. — Constantly messaging us, “are you done yet?”, “when can I see my preview?”, “have you started on my design yet?”, “can I see a rough draft?”, is extremely annoying. You sound like a toddler on a road trip asking “are we there yet?!” Your tattoo artist will get to you when they get to you. We totally understand that you’re excited, and maybe a bit anxious. When we have time, we will message you back. Please don’t make us “per my last email,” you a response.

• Be patient: One check-in is appropriate to confirm your appointment. Else, wait until you get to your appointment to see the finished design. Some artists do not do artwork until the day of, with you present (this is especially relevant for people getting large-scale custom pieces (sleeves, back pieces, etc.).
• Or, get something pre-designed: If you are someone who needs to know exactly what your art will look like before you get tattooed, get premade designs or tattoo flash. If you are unsure if a shop has tattoo flash to pick from, just ask us! We likely do.

Be open to artistic freedom. — Not all ideas you may have will be “tattooable.” Your concept may need to be enlarged to account for the needle size we use, how tattoos age over time (ink bleed), etc. Some of the colors you want to include in the tattoo may not be available in the ink we have available, or may need to be altered. When you are open to artistic interpretation, it helps the artist and you collaborate on a unique and one-of-a-kind design specific to you. Boxing in an artist with a check list of x, y, z, that needs to be included in your piece, in a specific order, at a certain size, with specific images, really takes away the trust you have in us to do our jobs. Restricting us kills our passion of doing what we love.

• Truth bomb ahead: Unless your tattoo is as basic as it comes, you will almost never get the exact reference photo you want, tattooed exactly the same way you want it done.
• Consider this instead: Have a general idea in mind and be open to feedback. Know what you like and dislike about the reference photos you sent us. Tell us your strong dislikes, so we avoid doing them. Be lenient on what we give you for a first draft design. Changes can still be made.

Be flexible. — Do not micromanage us. Yes, you are hiring us to provide you a product/service. However, just like you don’t like being micromanaged by your boss/supervisor at work, we don’t like it either. The more you make demands, request changes, and take away from our creative freedom, the less we enjoy the tattoo we are doing. The less we enjoy the tattoo we are doing, the less we want to work on the project. The less we want to work on the project, the less we care about the final outcome. The less we care about the final outcome, the faster we want you done and out of our chair. It’s a lose-lose-lose scenario.

• Get this through to your head: Perfection is an illusion. The more you are set on something being done a very specific way, the more disappointment you will receive. Just go with the flow. Let us do our jobs. If you are unhappy with how things are done, then you are welcome to go elsewhere.

Plan ahead. — Give yourself a solid month buffer between any upcoming family vacations to Disneyworld or camping trips. Believe me, as fun as a music festival sounds, you do not want to be washing and tending to your new tattoo in the blazing sun, sweating, dirty, and disheveled for days. Rubbing dirt, sand, and poison ivy into your new tattoo is probably (most definitely) the worst thing you can do for aftercare.

• Be open and honest with us: If you have a trip/vacation planned, tell your artist in advance. As badly as you want to get your tattoo right now, you may need to wait until you get back so you can properly heal it. Telling us you’re going to Mexico/Florida for vacation at the end of your session and asking us if you can go swimming with your new tattoo next week is going to drive your artist insane.

Be mindful of your words when you reply. — As artists, when you tell us you love our work and give us entire creative freedom, then nitpick the designs we make, we don’t think you actually love our work that much. Doubling down and insulting our art that we spent hours on, while continue telling us how much you hate that design, repeatedly, is extremely rude and unnecessary. If you don’t like what we are giving you, it is possible that there is a miscommunication somewhere. Either the artist didn’t ask enough questions, or you didn’t provide enough detailed instructions. If that’s the case, we just try again.

• Instead try: I like where this design is going but I have a few requests. Could we do this instead? (Then provide detailed description of what you want with more reference photos and instructions on how you envision this design in your head.)

If you don’t like the design, you don’t like the design. — You are allowed to say “no.” We can either try again, or part ways and leave it at that. Sometimes, the artist and client combo are simply not a good match. At the point where you’ve seen multiple designs, and you are still not happy with how the piece is going, you should find another artist who will do exactly what you are looking for in the style that you want.

• Or simply say: I don’t think this will be a good fit for what I’m looking for. I’m going to try to find another artist closer to the style I’d like to get. I’m sorry for any inconveniences this may have caused. Thank you for your time.

Your consultation should solely be between you and your artist. — Stop asking for everyone else’s opinion on your tattoo. Your tattoo is for you. It is your choice, and your personal experience. You do not need feedback from your six closest friends, mom, dad, brother, sister, cousin, aunt, grandma, backyard neighbor lady, kid you met in third grade… Am I making my point yet? Peer pressure and outside influence is a thing that needs to be avoided at all costs. Don’t let others get inside your head for a tattoo that you want to do. We artists know when you’ve shown mom, and she disapproves. You’re going to ask for a ton of changes the next day, when your artwork was perfectly fine and approved the night before.

• Trust your artist: Your actual tattoo consultation and design should be strictly between you and your artist. Getting feedback from a bunch of outside people about your tattoo design is only going to warp your mindset and opinion of what was originally planned. If you’re happy with it, that is all that matters. Leave it at that.
• Your friends and family can help with: Recommending a tattoo shop or artist to you, sifting through Google reviews, finding tattoo designs on Instagram and Pinterest, and brainstorming a list of cool ideas, are all great ways to get your friends and family involved in your tattoo. However, the artwork, style, colors, and features of your tattoo are ultimately your choices to make. You have the final say.

Theft is not cool. — Do not take our artwork to someone else to get tattooed. There is a reason that tattoo artists either take deposits, reserve all rights to their artwork, or do not do artwork for a client until the day of the tattoo. It is an extreme slap in the face to a tattoo artist for you to fill out a consult form, get artwork, and then go ask for the artwork to be done by another tattoo artist for cheaper. Just get the tattoo done by the artist who made it or find someone who can do the tattoo you want from the jump.

• Food for thought: There are several artists who sell their premade designs via tattoo tickets. “Tattoo tickets” are basically purchasing the rights to a design/artwork, that can be done by any tattoo artist anywhere. If you are unsure if an artist offers tattoo tickets, ask them. You can also research tattoo tickets online (Google, Instagram, etc.) for artists who provide this kind of service. Note: Not all artists will do/tattoo these pre-purchased designs. They’re a good bet for a walk-in studio; but specialty and custom artists still may want to make changes to the reference image you provide. Check with the artist you want to work with before buying one of these.
• Get permission: It is likely okay for you to find a design on the internet to use as a reference photo. Most artists make enough tweaks/revisions to design something original anyway. However, if you want to get a very specific design from an original artist, you may need to obtain permissions to turn their artwork into a tattoo.

Ghosting after filling out a consult form is rude. — When you can’t come on terms of agreement on a price, you don’t like the artwork you received, you found somewhere to go get the tattoo sooner, or you just don’t think the person will be the right fit, the appropriate thing to do is to do is thank you for their time and say that you are no longer interested in the piece. Not replying to emails or messages (regardless of if you are just starting a project, have one in the process, or an artist/client reached out about a touch up) is very disrespectful.

• Try this: Message the artist back that you are no longer interested in the piece (you do not have to explain why). If you paid a non-refundable deposit, mention that you understand that the deposit is non-refundable and thank them for their time. Apologize for any inconvenience you may have caused the artist, then you can stop replying. If an artist asks you a follow up of why you were no longer interested, it is up to your discretion to respond or to let sleeping dogs lie. If a tattoo artist is rude or disrespectful back to you in their response, do not engage with them further and/or block them. Everyone deserves respect and decency when it comes to choosing or not choosing to proceed with a tattoo project.
• If keeping up with your email isn’t your thing: See if the artist can talk to you a different way. Whether it’s a text message, a phone call, or an in-person consultation. Some artists can be flexible with how they book their tattoos. Others may be more streamlined and request that you communicate strictly via email. If that’s the case, unfortunately you will just have to make it a priority/habit to check your email up until you get the tattoo done if you work with this artist. Or, find someone who can communicate in the ways you need. 

Before You Show Up to Your Appointment
New tattoo anxiety is a thing. — Don’t over think it. You may be doubting yourself, second guessing, or regretting your decision to get a new tattoo. If you’re nervous, anxious, or worried before you get tattooed, these are all normal thoughts. With time, those thoughts shall pass.

• Prepare yourself: Get in the right mindset to get tattooed. If this is your first tattoo, and you are unsure of what it will entail, read the artist’s FAQs/website. Get a good night’s sleep. Drink water. Eat healthy food. Meditate. Exercise. Get a massage. Do whatever it is you need to do to take care of your body and ease your mind before you come get tattooed. Post-tattoo, rest. Relax. Take some pain medicine for inflammation, or ice your tattoo (at your artists recommendation). Have a beer or a glass of wine (but only if you didn’t take pain killers, we don’t want to mix those two). Distract yourself from your intrusive thoughts by calming your body, to calm your mind.

Leave your kids, pets, and guests at home. — A tattoo shop is full of biohazards and bodily fluids. Your children and pets should not be crawling around on the floor. It is extremely unsanitary and unsafe. Speaking from experience, it is also utterly boring watching someone else get tattooed for hours and hours with nothing to do. If you need to bring a guest with you to do a drop-off and pick-up, that’s completely fine. It is extremely distracting for us to do our job while multiple people are hovering over us while we are trying to work.

• Instead: Contact someone to watch your children for the full duration of the time you will be tattooed (for full day sits, think a whole damn day: 10am to 10pm). Leave a spare key for someone to come let your pets out for you. Tell your partner/spouse/friends that you are going to be getting a tattoo and that when you are finished, you will be able to hang out then. Do not bring a whole entourage to get tattooed.
• If you absolutely must have one person with you at all times: Ask us if bringing a guest is okay. Make sure that your 18+ year-old guest knows that they should bring along quiet activities to keep them preoccupied (work laptop, knitting, headphones, etc.). You can send your guest to get you food/drinks when you’re hungry. Make them your own dedicated personal assistant for the day. But, do not let them be a distraction to us doing our job.

Eat a full meal. — Whether it is a big breakfast, decently-sized lunch, or dinner before a late-night session, you are going to want food in your belly. Showing up hungry is just going to make your tattoo hurt more. Your body needs to have nutrients to deal with the pain.

• Straight facts: It is very possible for you to get light headed or to pass out from an adrenaline rush. Food tends to lessen that possibility significantly. If you are unable to eat a full meal before getting tattooed, please bring food with you and eat while we are doing paperwork and setting up your station.

Bring a snack. — For full day sessions, you are usually welcome to bring a packed lunch, or order food to the tattoo shop. We can take breaks for you to eat your food. Please don’t eat over top of us. We do not want hot sauce in your open wound or cookie/chip crumbs in our hair.

• Author note: Please be mindful of any allergies that others in the studio may have, specifically around nuts and peanut butter. Think “school-safe” snacks.

Drink plenty of water. — Keep yourself hydrated prior to getting tattooed. Start getting accustomed to drinking more water the week of your tattoo session. Pay extra close attention to hydration the day before and morning of your tattoo session.

• Pro tip: Slamming 2 bottles of water before you get tattooed is just going to make you have to use the bathroom a lot during your session. Plan in advance.

Avoid caffeine, and other stimulants. — Coffee, tea, and energy drinks contain caffeine, which may wake you up for the day, but are not a good combination with getting tattooed. You will already have enough adrenaline zooming through your body before your new tattoo. Adding caffeine (or other stimulants) to the mix may send your heart rate, blood pressure, and anxiety through the roof.

• Instead: Bring a water bottle along! You will want to stay hydrated anyway.

Just say “no” to drugs and alcohol. — Avoid going on a bender the night/day before you get tattooed. Do not come to your tattoo appointment hungover. You’re going to hate it. Your artist is going to hate it. If you come to your tattoo appointment visibly under the influence of any kind (drugs, alcohol, pills), you will be turned away. When your appointment is done, and you’ve taken the time to heal your tattoo, then I don’t care what you do with your life.

• Fun fact: Alcohol acts as a blood thinner and increases your bleeding rate. Excessive bleeding leads to big problems.
• Trust me: The absolute last thing you want to worry about is taking care of a new tattoo when you’re trippin’ balls.

Do not put any numbing cream or spray on before your tattoo. — Contact your artist first. Especially for first time tattooers, if you use a numbing agent, you are not fully aware of how your body reacts to getting a tattoo. You could get a weird reaction to the cream/spray. It could affect the way the tattoo heals. You could push yourself too far, and make yourself sick (woozy, dizzy, faint, shivers). If you contact your artist and they give you the okay to do so, then go ahead. Otherwise, wait!

• Try this first: Get tattooed as long as you possibly can without any numbing agent. Tell your artist when you are close to your pain tolerance threshold. Let them decide if it is the right move to stop your session, wrap you up, and do a second sit at a later date; or if they want to put some numbing cream on you, let you marinate, and then keep going. You are not the professional. Listen to whatever it is that they recommend. 

Shower, please. — I thought this one would be a given. I was wrong. Please, do not come to your tattoo appointments smelling like a one-night-stand, dirty gym socks, and stinky cheese. Put on a fresh coat of deodorant. It also wouldn’t hurt to brush your teeth. Eating garlic parmesan pasta may sound good on paper, until you’ve been breathing stale garlic breath in your artist’s face for a 6-hour session. If you go to the gym before your tattoo, wash your ass (and the rest of your body too).

• Note: Pay specific attention to the location you are getting tattooed. If you are tattooing your foot, and you’ve been out walking around in flip flops on the beach all day, give your feet a good scrub prior to coming in to the tattoo shop. If you are tattooing the back of your calf, anticipate taking your shoes off, and put on a fresh pair of socks.

If you are hairy, please trim it down. — You do not need to shave the area entirely with a straight razor. In fact, we advise against it so you don’t accidentally nick yourself. However, if you got weeds to wack, wack ‘em.

• For individuals with hairy arms, legs, and chests: If you’re getting tattooed in an area that has quite a bit of hair, take a trimmer to the area. You do not need to shave down to the skin. We will do the rest for you at your appointment!

Do not show up sunburnt. — Spending the weekend out in the sun with your friends sounds like a blast, but unfortunately, we cannot tattoo you if you are sunburnt or still in your peeling stage.

• Instead: Plan your tattoos around your summer time and vacation activities. Wear sunscreen, applying very frequently (every hour or so). This is also essential post-tattoo information. You’re going to want to stay out of the sun for a solid 2-3 weeks to care for your new tattoo.

Inform us of your allergies. — We most likely won’t be tattooing you with cats, dogs, pollen, or mold, and most artists haven’t used latex gloves in many years. However, there could be essential oils, fragrances, and ingredients that may be in our soaps, balms, creams, and lotions that may make you break out in hives. If you have any allergies to specific colors or dyes, we want to be sure that you’re not allergic to our ink. Also, if you are deathly allergic to items like tree nuts or peanuts, please let us know so we can alert other artists’ clients of their snack choices. We don’t want you going into anaphylactic shock! For allergy-prone and very skin-sensitive individuals, consult your doctors ahead of time.

• Send us a message: Disclose any and all allergies to your tattoo artist ahead of time, so that we can provide a safe tattoo space and environment to you. If you have any specific concerns, ask your artist if they can take a photo of the ingredients list on the items they will use during your tattoo, and send it to you in advance.

Be safe, not sorry. — If you have pre-existing medical, health, or skin conditions, consult your doctor/dermatologist before getting tattooed. Every person’s skin reacts differently to getting tattooed. If you have underlying health conditions, the risks of getting tattooed may be higher. In some cases, we may be unable to tattoo you at all.

• Alert your artist: Please give us a heads up if you are a higher-risk client. We may need to adjust the way we work with you, making your sessions shorter, and further apart to give your body ample time to heal. If you are on blood thinners, your pill routine may need to change in order for us to tattoo you. If you are diabetic, you will need to check your blood sugar levels throughout your tattoo. Every scenario will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

If you are sick, let us know, and stay home! — Please, please, please do not come to your tattoo appointment sick. Getting tattooed while sick is not a fun experience. It hurts more, your body is already fighting off an infection, so you get even more sick, and your tattoo heal takes longer. Even worse, if you get your tattoo artist sick, you are then impeding on their monthly income, making several other clients get rescheduled, and are just not a nice person.

• If you are sick: Contact us immediately. Do not wait it out to see how you are feeling later. The second you feel ill or unwell is the second you should message us to reschedule. If you are experiencing cold or flu-like symptoms within a 72-hour time frame of your tattoo appointment, contact us to reschedule. Most of us are willing to give one free reschedule to individuals who are sick. Just be prepared that your rescheduled tattoo might be further out, or that you may have to come in on a date/time that is convenient for the artist, such as a weekday, or weeknight.

At Your Appointment
Show up for your appointment on time. — I’m just going to call it like it is, being too early makes us stress out and being late pisses us off. Think of it in 5-minute increments. If you are going to be over 5 minutes early, or 5 minutes late, send us an email or give us a call and give us a heads up. If you are way too early, we may send you away to come back when we are ready for you. If you are more than 30 minutes late, we may not be able to do your tattoo without bumping into another appointment’s time slot. Be courteous of our time, and yours.

• General feedback: Most of us would rather you be 15 minutes late than for you to cancel on us and not show up at all. Just give us a heads up.

No call, no showing an appointment gets you banned. — For whatever reason it is that you are unable to get tattooed, just not showing up and not forewarning an artist is a crap thing to do. Tattoo artists make their income based on you paying them that day. We also incur a multitude of costs to set up your tattoo station, with the assumption that you are going to show up for your appointment. Your artist purposefully set time aside to reserve your appointment, turning other people away who were just as interested in taking that original time slot. We understand emergencies arise, people get sick, stuff happens… Just don’t f*ck with our income. If you know well enough in advance that you are no longer able to afford the piece, you have something that came up that you have to attend (jury duty, a wedding, a work trip, we truthfully don’t care what it is), just let us know with as much notice as possible. We can likely reschedule you.

• Proceed with caution: If you no call, no show, you will likely lose your deposit in its entirety. In some instances, in order to rebook a new date/time, an artist may ask you to pay for half of your tattoo up front, or to pay for your piece in full.
• Artist note: We understand that life happens, but not saying anything to us at all, and not showing up, is not okay. If you give us ample amount of time to get rescheduled, we are likely able to get you a new date/time. Most artists offer one free reschedule with enough notice. If you’re unsure if you will have to pay a new deposit to change your tattoo date, ask your artist.

Be kind. — If you are having a bad day, please don’t take it out on your tattoo artist. We do have needles in our hands after all. Respect, courtesy, patience, and a positive attitude goes a long way!

• Instead: Let your artist know you are not having a good day and need to vent. Mention that any nastiness isn’t directed at anything we did. Then, moan, and groan, and complain all you want about the outside world. Just don’t expect us to feed into your pity party. We have a job to do that involves stabbing you repeatedly for many hours. 😊 Most of us aren’t here to make your day worse.

Be certain of your design before we start poking you. — We can move a stencil as many times as your heart desires (within reason), but we cannot move a finished tattoo. Asking us to change something in the design mid-tattoo is not the move you want to make. If I already colored you blue, and now you want purple, I can’t just simply tattoo purple over a spot I already tattooed blue. It’s not as simple as you think it is. When we tattoo you, we have a certain amount of time we can spend in your skin with the needles before we chew you up like hamburger meat and overwork an area. You will need to heal, and we will need to use color theory to layer colors over the existing blue color to make purple. We gave you a preview of the design. You like it. You approved it. Now it’s kinda-sorta too late.

• Before you get tattooed: Be absolutely positive that you like all the colors used, and all the features the design has. Tell us what you want changed in your design preview before we lay your stencil. A design reference can easily be fixed on an iPad. Changing the design mid-tattoo isn’t a quick and easy fix.

Trust the process. — Some tattoo artists draw their designs on using pens that look messy and hard to read. Some stencils look crazily marked up in purple, while others are mostly a blank canvas with a few circles here and there. There are tattoo artists who can do a whole forearm in one 8-hour session, and others who tattoo the same type of project over multiple sessions. You’ve looked at the finished portfolio (and healed work) of the tattoo artist that you chose to work with. Trust us to do our jobs in the ways that we do them. If you want to get a full sleeve done in back-to-back sessions, be our guest. Find an artist who can smash and slam a wicked full outer arm over one weekend and pay them their worth for it. Not all artists are that skilled, fast at tattooing, or capable of committing two back-to-back 10-hour-plus sessions. Sometimes, your tattoo just needs a few sits to get the job done. Sometimes, the artist likes doing things a particular way. To each their own.

• Healthy tip: There are thousands and thousands of tattoo artists to choose across the country and world. If you don’t like the way one artist works, you don’t have to work with them. You can choose someone else.

The process of getting a tattoo is not comfortable. — All tattoos hurt. Depending on where you get tattooed, some spots hurt more than others. The pain is temporary, and generally more of an annoyance than anything. Usually, sitting in a chair, in the same spot, at an odd angle, for many hours at a time is more painful than the tattoo itself. When you don’t give yourself the mental strength to do something, you won’t have the physical strength to accomplish it.

• Professional advice: Come in with the mindset that you will complete this session no matter what. If you need to take a break to stand and stretch, get a snack, or use the restroom, ask. We too like to take breaks from being hunched over creatures and to get some water (which we never seem to drink enough of).

Please, sit still. — We can mess up your tattoo if you’re jumping and bouncing around going “ooh,” and “ahh!” We know it hurts. This is especially important for linework-only designs. One minor fidget, and you risk messing up an important line that was meant to be straight… Now, it’s not.

• Instead: Focus on your breathing. If we are tattooing your left forearm, squeeze a stress ball with your right forearm to balance the tension. If we are tattooing the back of your right calf, flex your left calf muscle to ease the pain. Distract yourself in order to not jump around like you’re a fan in the stands at a college football game.

Don’t forget to breathe. — Just keep breathing, breathing, breathing. What do we do? We breathe! Taking a deep breath and breathing normally is not going to mess up your tattoo. Artists know their canvas is a living, breathing, moving target. Relax as much as you possibly can and let the air out.

• Fun fact: Deep breathing triggers endorphin production, encourages oxygen flow in your blood stream, stabilizes blood pressure, and slows your heart rate. This relaxes your body and makes getting tattooed easier.

You can ask us for breaks, but we may cut you off eventually. — ​When you stop us every 10 minutes, to pause for you to collect yourself, we will think you’ve hit your wall. If you’re squirming a ton, crying profusely, or pleading for us to stop every third line to take a break, we may need to complete your tattoo over multiple, smaller sessions. The more interruptions you make to take a smoke break, stand up, stretch, go to the bathroom, eat a snack, or whatever it is you need to do, the longer the tattoo takes, and the more painful it gets over time.

• Generally speaking: Most artists provide check ins. We see how you are doing and give you points in your tattoo where “tapping out” is okay. We will let you know when we are done with a section, when a good time for a break would be, and where good stopping points are to wrap you up for the day. Long sits may not be for you, and that’s okay. Just let your artist know that you will need to finish the piece in smaller sessions over a longer period of time.
• Take my advice: If you haven’t sat for an 8-hour tattoo before, don’t book an 8-hour tattoo. Start small, figure out what it feels like. Build up your pain tolerance. Then, get the 8-hour tattoo.

After Your Tattoo Appointment
Follow our aftercare instructions. — I am not someone who likes when my clients dry-heal their tattoos. I hammer ink into you, and I really need you to stay moisturized throughout your entire healing process. If you dry out your tattoo, and it scabs, and you pick at those scabs, and take out chunks of ink... I’m going to be an unhappy camper.

• If you don’t understand, ask: If there is a step on the aftercare sheet that doesn’t make sense to you, please get clarification from us.

Be patient with the healing process. — Healing tattoos look really gross. They are itchy. They peel, flake, and feel similar to a sunburn. They are going to get ugly and nasty before they look beautiful again.

• If you have concerns, contact your artist: In some cases, clients experience minor allergic reactions to the bandages used. Always make a solid 24-to-48-hour attempt at aftercare (washing regularly and applying a thin layer of ointment between washes) first. Individuals, especially those with fair skin, may have red inflamed skin on/around the tattoo that may raise concerns. Keep it clean and moist and the redness and swelling will gradually go down as the tattoo heals.
• If your tattoo is getting worse: Contact your artist to see what may be going wrong. In worst-case scenarios (green/yellow fluid oozing out of your tattoo), reach out to a doctor/medical professional to get on an antibiotic.

Washing a new tattoo can be painful. — Do it anyway. You absolutely must wash and ointment/lotion your new tattoo. It is essential to keep your tattoo clean and moisturized. Period.

• Try this: Numb your tattoo with an ice pack before washing it or take an Ibuprofen/Tylenol to help ease the pain of handling your fresh tattoo.

Avoid submerging your tattoo in water. — Fresh tattoos are open wounds that are susceptible to infection. It is not safe or sanitary to take your fresh tattoo to a lake, river, ocean, pond, pool, or hot tub. Unclean, unfiltered water harbors bacteria, especially in public places. Believe it or not, putting chlorine and children's pee in your open wound isn't the best for your blood stream; nor is norovirus, E. coli, feces, and pollution that can be found in open bodies of water. Just say no to swimming until your tattoo is entirely healed (past the itchy-peelie stage).

• Also avoid baths: Although a nice warm soak in a bubble bath may sound delightful, soaking your fresh tattoo prevents your tattoo from healing properly. When showering, bathing, and washing, try to keep your tattoo out of the direct stream of water for prolonged periods of time.

Give yourself time to rest and relax. — The first week of aftercare is the most important timeframe in your tattoo journey. (However, you should plan at least 2-3 weeks of truly babying your new tattoo, and 4-6 weeks of babying a large tattoo).

• Think ahead: Taking a fresh tattoo on a backpacking trip through the mountains, on a beach vacation, or competing in a marathon race is not the move. Plan your tattoo appointment between family trips, vacations, competitions, and otherwise. You will need access to clean air, clean sheets, clean water, and a cool place with not a lot of sun/heat.

Your tattoo is probably going to hurt for a while. — The first few days after getting a decently sized tattoo is going to feel rough. Some tattoo areas (inner arms, backs of arms, backs of knees, elbows, etc.) may swell up and bruise. This is entirely normal. Especially with large tattoo sits, your body may ache from sitting for extended periods of time, and your tattooed area will feel tight. (We literally stabbed you repeatedly with tiny needles for many hours. It's to be expected.) Wear loose fitting clothing so that your tattoo isn’t getting restricted or rubbed against. Give it space to breath.

• For pain relief: You can ice your tattoo area and take Ibuprofen or Tylenol for the pain.

Avoid excessive sweating. — Especially if you’re wearing the clear, film bandage, excessive sweating is a breeding ground for bacteria. We understand some of you have manual labor jobs, are working outside in the heat, or are natural gym rats. Please, do everything you can to plan your tattoo heal for a few days or rest to get maximum wear out of your bandages. You paid a lot of money for these pieces, and we want you to heal them properly.

• If possible: Shield your tattoo from the sun. Keep it cool and covered. Bring a fan or an ice pack to regulate your body temperature. Wash your tattoo immediately when you get home. Getting sweat trapped inside your new bandage is like harvesting bacteria in a petri dish. Not good.

Skip “gym day” for a while. — Just like you can injure your body, you can injure your new tattoo. Whether you are a sports player, body builder, fighter, or gym rat/bunny, just take a few days off.

• If you absolutely must work out: Consider small stretches, yoga, or a light activity where you will not break a sweat.

Stay out of the sun. — You will be unable to apply sunscreen or tanning oils to your fresh tattoo for several weeks, so avoiding the sun in general is the best thing to do. Additionally, if you wear your clear wrap that we bandage you in, you can sunburn through the plastic; and in extreme cases, that adhesive can fry into your open wound! Once your tattoo is healed, roughly 2-3 weeks, you can start applying sunscreen.

• While outside: Keep your fresh tattoos covered and out of the direct sun light. Do your best to shield your fresh tattoos with an umbrella or article of clothing. Once it’s healed, wear your sunscreen!

No tanning (including fake-n-bake). — Tanning beds have way more UV concentration than general outdoor sun exposure does. UV exposure on your new tattoo is bad news bears. You also definitely do not want the chemicals from the fake tanner getting into your blood stream anyway. All excessive tanning will destroy your tattoos over time. Plus, your skin ages pretty quickly tanning anyway. Quit fake baking. It's better for your new tattoos, and for your overall health.

• Pro tip: Wearing sunscreen regularly on your (healed) tattooed bits will protect you from the sun's harmful UV rays and keep your tattoos looking spick and span for the years to come.

Pass on the drugs and alcohol. — Trust me, the absolute last thing you want to do is try to take care of your new tattoo while under the influence. The drunk or high version of you is not going to take proper care of your new tattoo. Besides the point, your new tattoo is likely going to ooze plasma for upwards of 48 to 72 hours (that's why you get ink sacks). Alcohol acts as a blood thinner and increases your bleeding rate. Excessive bleeding leads to big problems. Stimulants affect blood vessels, blood pressure, and heart rate just the same.

• Future you will thank you: Pass the 2–3-week mark of healing your tattoo (when it’s done being itchy and peeling), and you may choose to do whatever “adult activities” it is that you desire.

No shaving, waxing, sugaring, or exfoliating. — Ripping out your little body hairs, no matter the process, from a fresh tattoo is going to feel like hell. Reserve at least 3-4 weeks before you start shaving, sugaring, or waxing the tattooed area.

• If you are considering laser hair removal: Please do your laser hair removal before you get tattooed. Get your laser hair removal. Heal your body parts. Then, plan your arm/leg sleeve.

Hold off on kinky fun sexy time. — I cannot reiterate this enough... Your new tattoo is an open wound! We do not want bodily fluids of any kind, from you or others, getting inside of your fresh tattoo. For my particularly kinky friends: no ouchies, slaps, paddles, whips, wax or anything "harmful" on your tattoo area until you are nicely healed.

• Your partner will understand: Safety comes first. Always, always, always, care for your body, mind, and soul before engaging in sexual activities. This includes healing your new tattoos.

Keep your pets and kids away from your new tattoos. — You do not want dog hair, cat hair, children’s boogers, piss, shit, or who knows what else in your new tattoos!

• Train your minions: Let them know, or teach them, that their touches cause “pain” in those spots, so that they learn to avoid them for the next few weeks. You can slowly integrate them back into their normal routines when you are healed.

Blood and plasma donations need to wait. — Giving back to the community is awesome! We appreciate that you want to help others, but getting new tattoos also comes with risks. Every blood and plasma donation centers have different rules revolving around donations. Make sure to check with your local donation center on when it is safe/okay for you to begin donating again.

• Kudos: We know quite a few of you do blood or plasma donations to get money to fund your new tattoos, which is a really smart way to do so! Lots of donation centers use your blood to combat diseases and create cures, medicines, and treatments. Thanks for doing your part for your communities.

Send us healed pics. — ​I am a perfectionist and I want to see if there are any spots in your tattoo that I would like to do a quick pass-over or a touch up on. After 6-8 weeks, your tattoo is healed enough to do a second session on. Let us make sure that you are wearing our best version of work.

• Do us a favor: Even if you don’t think it needs a touch up, and you are happy with your piece, your artist may be dying inside not knowing how everything looks, healed. Most of us also really want these client-submitted photos to share to our social media channels. It really does help us, and we are grateful to get updates from you.

Other Things to Mention
You can fire your tattoo artist before, during, or after your project. — You are allowed to make changes to your piece before we start tattooing. You are allowed to move your stencil to a different location before we start tattooing. You reserve the right to be tattooed in a safe environment. Getting a tattoo, especially a first tattoo, is nerve-wracking enough. It is absolutely unprofessional and unacceptable for an artist to make sexual remarks or distasteful comments about you, to complain about the tattoo you want to get, or to ignore your feedback and personal concerns during your tattoo experience. If you feel unsafe, unwanted, disregarded, disrespected, shamed, worried, or concerned in any sense, please speak up. You are not required to get the tattoo, finish your piece, or to remain a client.

• If your artist and you are butting heads over email before your appointment: You can sense friction between you two and are afraid of making things worse. At this point, you are unsure if this artist is the right fit for you. It’s okay to part ways and say that this isn’t going to work and that you need to cancel your appointment.
• If your artist hasn’t started tattooing yet, but you’re picking up on some weird signals and red flags: Trust your intuition. Your gut is likely correct. Tell your artist that you are feeling unwell. Get out. Leave. Find someone else to do the piece.
• If you are in the middle of a tattoo, and the vibe is off in the room around you: Make the executive decision to do what is best for you at that present time. Tattoo shops can be filled with people who have varying opinions, lifestyles, political alignments, viewpoints, etc. It’s hard not to overhear all the conversations going on, or to be sucked into one that you feel strongly about. You are welcome to engage in the conversation, state your opinions, and say what is on your mind. However, if you feel it is going to cause friction between you and your artist, you have two options. Either agree to disagree, put some headphones in, and tough it out to finish your piece; or find a good stopping point, pay for the portion of the tattoo you got done, and find another artist to complete the piece. Your artist may reach out to you to come back and finish your tattoo, at that point you can either let them know you were uncomfortable, tell them that you found someone else to complete the piece, or choose not to respond.

Tattoos are perfectly imperfect. — It is impossible to achieve ultimate perfection in a tattoo. Even the most skilled artists who have done tens of thousands of hours into tattoos over the years can make mistakes. There will be parts of your tattoo that are flawed by human error. Most of the time, only you and the tattoo artist will see the flaws, unless you start pointing them out to everyone around you. It’s okay.

• If you’re still unhappy: When you gave it a full 6-8 week’s heal time and are genuinely, deeply unhappy with the outcome of your tattoo, contact your tattoo artist for a touch up. Let them know what you are unhappy about with your tattoo. Most artists offer free touch ups for the technicalities (grey lines, inconsistent color, patchiness, etc.) because we want our clients to be thrilled with the work they got. If your artist doesn’t offer a free touch up, or your requested changes would not be covered under the terms/conditions of a free touch up, ask them how much it would be to make changes/enhancements to your piece. If you’re uncomfortable going back to the original artist, you may need to find someone elsewhere who is willing and able to fix your piece. Know, not all artists are willing to fix up or cover up other artists’ work. So, your options become more limited, and usually more expensive.
• Understand that: Tattoo artists think about each and every piece we do. We look back on our work and we think about what we could have done better. We analyze our designs and try to make improvements. We hone-in on our techniques. We learn from mistakes, just like everyone does in their own profession. We are likely beating ourselves up more than you are when we see a mistake or design flaw in the tattoo we did. If we can fix it, we want to.

We want you to be happy. — At the end of the day, we all want our clients to be pleased with the tattoos that you receive from us. We trusted that you came to us because you loved our work, so we want you to still feel that way at the end of the day.

• If you are unhappy with your tattoo: Speak up. Say something.  We are not mind readers. Unless you tell us in person (or over email if you're afraid of the backlash), we don't know that you're unhappy. Most of us will do whatever we can in our power to remedy the situation so that you will be satisfied. 

Please, give us your feedback. — Laugh. Cry. Be merry. We want all of the feelings. If you feel the need to hug us, just ask. (Some of us, like myself, get a little uncomfortable with physical touch without a warning first.) We welcome any and all feedback. It helps us close our tattoo chapter with you and allows new ones to open.

• Leave a review: If you are comfortable, we welcome your feedback via online reviews. Let us (and others) know what made your experience great. If you’re not so comfortable with that, tell us in person at the end of your session or send us an email later on.

If you like your tattoo, and you had a pleasant experience, consider tipping your tattoo artist. — A standard tip in America is around 15-25%. If your artist did a shit job, then no tipping is your prerogative. If you are a no-tipper in general, or unsure of what to bring for a tip, you can always ask.

• Food for thought: Unless the artist owns the tattoo studio, they are likely paying a flat-rate rent, or a percentage of each tattoo, to the studio that they work for. In most cases, this percentage is 30% to 50% of the tattoo that they charged you for. So, when you’re paying $100 on a tattoo, your artist could only be making $50 to $70 on that piece. On top of that, artists must pay for supplies that goes into each set up (ink and needles are not cheap). (We also get taxed, just like all workers do, on our take home pay.) If you value us and our work, we really do appreciate your tip, even if you can only afford an extra 5-10%.
• General tip and advice: In the event of not having a ton of spare change to bring, you can always ask the artist if you could bring them coffee, pay for lunch/dinner, or hand-make a present/gift instead. I’ve gotten a lot of really cool gifts as tips and I appreciate those just as much, if not more, because they are personalized to me.

Don’t be a stranger. — A lot of us really like to build friendships with our clients. There are artists I know (myself included) who have been invited to client’s weddings, baby showers, football parties, barbeques, Friendsgivings, etc. A lot of us will wish you a happy holiday, or send a birthday text (if we know/remember it). Add us on social media, follow us, send us a note or email whenever you get compliments on your tattoo. It really does make us feel good when we hear from you.

• Only do what you’re comfortable with: You’re not required to be our friend. We do build a fairly personal relationship with our clients, especially those who return for lots of work and large projects from us. But, for small one-off random tattoos, this obviously can’t all apply to you.

Come back again! — We almost always want you to come get more tattoos from us.

• Make a plan: We know that you just spent a lot of money with us, and we’re thankful for you putting food on our tables and paying our rent/mortgages!

Support our work. — If you’re not on the market for a new tattoo, most artists offer other stuff and things as well. Buy our stickers, pins, shirts, hats, coloring books, and whatever other knickknacks we have. Buy our art, our prints, or commission a custom drawing from us. Most artists have some other side project going on as well: painting, metalwork, woodwork, sculpting, ceramics, miniatures, crocheting, knitting, whatever it may be. Ask us what other hobbies we do, and if you can support us in smaller ways.

• We understand money is tight: You aren’t required to purchase anything from us (ever again). A like or a share on our work is just as impactful as a sale.

You can support us without spending money. — ​Follow us on social media. Like, share, and comment on our posts. Leave us 5-star reviews. Tell your friends and family.

• Some of the best marketing is free: Word of mouth, is really impactful for us. Any time that you can help us grow our pages and our reach, we appreciate it and are grateful.  

In Closing...
As blunt and comical as some of these examples are. They happen (almost regularly). You and I both know that the people who truly need to read this article, and get a reality check, aren’t going to read it. Or, they might skim it, and think it doesn’t pertain to them anyway.

As a tattoo artist, it is my job to create art that is fricken awesome and provide you with a tattoo that you and I both love. I enjoy building rapport with my clients and turning my clients into repeat customers and form long-lasting friendships. In order to do that, we both need to form an alliance and business transaction based on mutual respect. The more we respect one another, the better the outcome will be for both of us, and the more pleasant the experience will be overall.

Compatibility matters. I know (for a fact) that not all of us are going to vibe on the same frequency, and that’s cool. There are tons of artists who will dig your personality, and tons of clients who will enjoy my brashness. Not everyone will be a perfect fit for me, and I know I won’t be the perfect tattoo artist for everyone. Just know, if you don’t like Gemini’s, we will likely butt heads. 😉 (I lost some of you readers as clients right there, just on that statement alone.)

Thanks for reading, and hopefully you didn’t get your feelings too hurt by my examples, criticism, and honest feedback. Take what I say with a grain of salt, or let it be a tool that helps you pivot into being a super cool client. We appreciate y’all.